location based tech Archives ⋆ Mobile Commerce Press

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Location based technology is acceptable to most shoppers

Denny | September 11, 2015

Consumers are open to accepting geolocation tech in order to access in-store services.

According to the newly released results of a study conducted by Zebra Technologies in its Corporation Global Shopper Study, shoppers are open to using location based technologies while in store in order to be able to gain access to services and offers that will enhance their experiences.

The study results offer insight into a range of different consumer interests in terms of mobile tech use.

Among the participants in the survey, the majority expressed an interest in using relevant location based technology over a store’s WiFi in order to enhance their shopping experience. Among the types of services in which they expressed interest were mobile coupons (said 51 percent), in-store shopping maps (45 percent), and help from associates (41 percent). This was the eighth annual edition of this study by Zebra Technologies.

The study also showed that location based technology could offer real-time info that shoppers want.

Location based technology - Shopping Among the respondents to this survey, 34 percent said that they felt that they had a better connection with a store through real-time information that they received through mobile devices than they did through the assistance of human associates working in the stores. At the same time, 64 percent of shoppers expressed that there was a greater likelihood that they would buy something if they felt that they were getting better customer services. Moreover, 52 percent of the participants in the research said that they valued retailers that improved the efficiency of the shopping experience through the use of technology.

Over three out of every four shoppers (76 percent) stated that they had a positive feeling about the experience of shopping in brick and mortar stores, and almost half of all consumers believe that technology solutions are assisting retailers in being able to better their shopping experience.

More insight was provided about the potential value of location based technology when it was revealed that 53 percent of consumers said that they “showroomed”, that is, they went to a store in order to have a look at a product, in person, but then bought that same item online. Equally, about a third of shoppers preferred to buy a product online and then pick it up at their nearest retail location, instead of having it shipped.

Location based technology becomes a USD learning tool

BWild | July 17, 2015

The University of San Diego’s IT department is using geolocation technology for interactive instruction.

The IT department at the University of San Diego (USD) has recently launched the World Interactive Study Environment (WISE), which uses location based technology to help students to drop pins from wherever they are around the globe, and to add comments, videos, and pictures, in order to encourage greater interaction and discussion among class members.

The pilot of the WISE platform is being run throughout this summer by a 10 student class.

The members of that class will be heading to London as a part of an art history study program. Previously, the platform has already been used in 2015 since its launch, when the location based technology was brought throughout lower income neighborhoods in San Diego by social science students. It was also used by those students for documenting trips that were taken to their local farmers market.

The location based technology is being tested in a number of different contexts and functions.

Location Based Technology - Learning Tool The development team behind the WISE platform is now working on creating native iOS and Android versions. Currently, this geolocation technology functions with Google’s Cloud Storage, its App Engine, and its Maps.

The data from the early adopters is integral to the team at the university that is continuing to work on the WISE geolocation platform. They will be collecting the feedback from the pilot programs in order to continue to evolve and enhance it for improved use. They are also considering marketing this platform in order to sell it.

The reason is that there is a nearly endless list of potential learning uses for location based technology, so there is a considerable amount of potential to make money if they are able to sell the tech to the right organization. This is particularly true in the higher education fields, where there is currently a struggle in boosting the interactivity of lessons within the classrooms. The student population is now made up of people who have grown up with the use of digital tools and have a certain expectation as to the types of resources that should be available to them throughout their studies.